Banning cellphone use by drivers might not mean fewer accidents

It seems odd, but according to a professor who worked on the study, legislation in California from 2008 that banned drivers from using their cellphones while behind the wheel, had no affect on the number of accidents on the road. Surely that can’t be right.

Professor Daniel Kaffine did say that he would have expected a small decrease in the number of accidents, even if just a small number of drivers stopped using their phones while behind the wheel. I think that most of us would have expected the same thing. Professor Kaffine and his team looked at many factors that play a part in accidents. Like the introduction of safer cars, a recession that lessens the amount of driving people do, and changes to traffic laws. Other variables included wet roads and gas prices (since lower gas costs increase traffic on the road and higher costs decrease traffic).

Previous studies have stated that using a cellphone while driving was similar to driving while under the influence, but Professor Kaffine thinks that those studies were too clinical and focused on the lab instead of the real world.

After taking into account all of the factors, it was discovered that banning the use of handsets by drivers contributed nothing toward reducing the number of accidents. Some possible reasons for this are drivers ignoring the law, and drivers switching their attention from the phone to their car’s radio or satellite system. I guess it all boils down to people being just as distracted with or without our devices. IF this is really accurate. The results are surprising.